Trinidad Jame$ threw a party at Encore last night and everyone got free liquor [Review]

Edmonton, AB – Last night, our friends over at Nightshift Entertainment brought Trinidad Jame$ to the YEG to kick off a monstrous long weekend of hip-hop. In case you missed the memo – Iron Mic Music Festival is going down on Saturday. It’s Western Canada’s largest indoor hip-hop music festival. So Jame$ kicked things off last night at the festival’s pre-party inside West Edmonton Mall’s Encore.

So here’s what happened: Jame$ hits the stage – and ugh – there’s no one in the venue. Maybe a handful of ladies. And dozens of dudes. Anyways, Trinidad Jame$ was basically like, “F**k it. Let’s just party.” So he started handing out red cups. And then he started pouring it up. And then the Grey Goose came out. And an Edmo Trinidad Jame$ party happened.

The songs weren’t polished. And no one really cared that the only song they could sing along to was “All Gold Everything.” The crowd was just so geeked on the free booze. So they didn’t mind. And it was this magical Kodak moment wherein Trinidad Jame$ became the Encore-equivalent of that cool dude who used to bootleg liquor for you in high school. He was empathetic to the situation; he knew that he couldn’t really turn up the venue with so few people. So he kicked in to plan B: he decided to get everyone white-girl wasted so that they could turn themselves up. It worked. Kind of. And he’s chivalrous, too. Jame$ only had a few shots left in his bottle of Grey Goose. So being that Dirty South gentleman that he is, he made sure that the vodka rations were given to the ladies.

But let’s get back to “All Gold Everything,” here; because that was obviously the second-best highlight (free booze, being the first) of the night. Jame$ jumped into the crowd and wandered around. And an army of smartphones ensued. Jame$ performed his monster hit from the middle on the dancefloor, and it was the one song everyone came to see him perform. So everyone sang along. Everyone got the selfies that they came for. And it was all sorts of cuteness.

But, no. I feel like it’s unfair to get deep into the review of this show because of the circumstances. So instead of talking about Jame$’ set list and stuff, I’m going to talk about his stylish get-up, and I’m going to plug his mixtape that no one listened to. Because reasons.

So Trinidad Jame$ has fancy pantsy style. Exhibit A: his shirt. It had the Tommy Hilfiger logo on it. But instead being embossed with “Tommy Hilfiger” lettering, the shirt read “Keep It Real N*gga.” Because – you know – that rhymes with Tommy Hilfiger. Tee-hee. Then there was the camo bucket hat that looked like it had the Gap logo. But it didn’t. Instead, it read “Trap.” Which is like Gap. But not. That’s right – Trinidad Jame$ was sporting trap rap versions of popular apparel brands. I bet the dude probably goes to Applebees and calls it “Rap-plebees,” too.

Jame$ was also rocking a fresh pair of Air Max 1s. Not just any Air Max 1s, though. He had the March-released Nike Air Max 1 3.26 kicks that were designed to mark the anniversary of the original sneaker release on March 26, 1987. We’re talking grey leather overlays, yellow midsole, white mesh, red suede mudguard, and the “3.26” embossing on each shoe tongue. Mmm-mmm-mmm. Beautiful.

Side note: I know y’all are still busy listening to “All Gold Everything,” and – possibly – dipping your toes into “Female$ Welcomed.” But if you catch a minute you should listen to Jame$’ 10 pc. Mild. It got unnecessarily slept on. But it was one of my favourite ignorant wild-out tapes from summer 2013. It’s got Childish Gambino on it; before Because The Internetblew up the Internet. Gambino is all like, “Back for more, f**k it, I’m ‘a rap some more/ I got some white girls with me like I’m Macklemore/ My back is sore/ From whippin’ in the Jaguar/ I’m the G.O.A.T. like a motherf**king Capricorn.” And it doesn’t stop there. Danny Brown’s on the tape. Rich Homie Quan is on the tape. It’s a gem.

Sarah Sussman is HipHopCanada's Associate Editor in Chief.
Sarah is a born-and-raised Calgarian who works as a freelance writer, photographer, and A&R talent scout for Universal Music. During the day, she runs a vintage clothing boutique on 17th Avenue called Used House of Vintage.
Sarah graduated from SAIT Polytechnic's journalism diploma program in 2013 and has been writing about Canadian hip-hop since 2012. Sarah has written for The Yellow Pages Group, The Weal, Where Calgary, Essential Calgary, and Our Alberta.
Sarah started working with HipHopCanada in January 2013 as the Regional Prairies Editor. She has been fortunate enough to interview and photograph some of hip-hop's greatest influencers including Rich Homie Quan, Action Bronson, Smoke DZA, Future, MGK, Ghostface Killah, Moka Only, Maestro Fresh Wes, Shad, Joey Bada$$, Mac Miller, Maseo (De La Soul), Ali Shaheed Muhammad (A Tribe Called Quest), and more.
Follow Sarah on Twitter: @IHeartTART